It's the Economy!

Amazing how much a missionary's life can be determined by the economy. The usual missionary doesn't choose this life in order to make extra money, or even to live at the level most Americans live at. But we are deeply affected by it.

One reason is that we live on exchange rates. Back in 1993 many missionaries left Kenya because the rate of the dollar against the Kenyan shilling changed so much so rapidly. We are facing a similar time now. The US $ has dropped 8.5 shillings to the dollar in the past year. That is 11.64%. Our personal buying power has lost that much in a year, and the Made in the Streets has lost the same buying power.

In addition to that, the Kenyan economy has seen a surge in growth, which leads to a rise in the inflation level. Couple that with the rise in the price of oil worldwide, and prices go up rapidly. It isn't only the price of gasoline and diesel, which have increased a little more than $1 per gallon in the past year. It's that flour has gone from $1 for 4.4 pounds (2 kilogram) to $1.70. And milk has increased twice in the past two weeks, once 5 cents a quart and the next 7 cents a quart. And bread -- our kids eat a lot of bread -- went up 5 cents a loaf last week. In the news today was a note that sugar will increase in price soon.

Besides all that, Kenya has joined the world conservation movement and has begun a campaign against plastic bags - this is one of the worst parts of the litter problem in our cities - and the government has slapped a 120% import duty on plastic goods. That also will make prices go up.

In today's paper are articles about salaries in Kenya. Now we are also faced with the fact that our Kenyan Team members are in the lowest level of salaries in the country, since economic growth has led to a rise in salaries generally.

So...we have to pay attention to the economy. And we need people to pray for us that we will be wise in using the Lord's money, the funds that Christians have so generously given us. Please ask God to give us wisdom. Even the economy points to our need for God's care. It's good to have many things in our lives that point us to the need to trust God with our lives and futures.

May the Lord guide your daily life... charles